Two suicide bombers have attacked Mogadishu's port on Thursday, with conflicting report emerging over the casualties and means of attack.

Early reports indicated two African Union peacekeepers may have been killed, but AMISOM Spokesman Paddy Ankunda said that none of his men were killed in the blast and the only fatality was a civilian.

“The men blended in with the constant flow of civilian traders entering and leaving the port. "Our security picked up the threat quickly and dealt with it effectively, preventing the men from reaching the dockside and causing extensive injuries to workers unloading ships."

However, Deputy Port Head Ahmed Abdi Kariye told Somalia Report there was only one bomber, who killed an old man when he detonated his device.

A government official in the port, who gave her name only as Hani, told a different story, saying she saw the bodies of two Ugandan soldiers after the attack.

“Two young men wearing explosive vests jumped over the wall of the seaport,” she told Somalia Report. "They were equipped with a pistols; first they started firing bullets and then exploded.”

Nobody claimed immediate responsibility for the blast, but militant Islamist group al-Shabaab is the chief suspect. The attack coincides with major demonstrations in Mogadishu over a deal that calls for Prime Minister Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo to resign in exchange for a one-year delay to polls set for this year.